On Clouds, Darkly
by Ryful
Summary: Cloud-watching was a hobby. An unproductive hobby, yes, but a hobby nonetheless. But while she was used to seeing the afternoon puffs floating across the sky, today, it was almost as if darkness had descended upon the blue. It was almost as if the final strings of peace, the tensions of war, were reflecting darkly in the sky. OC
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

* * *

 _Author's notes:_

Kiri didn't attack Uzu. Instead, the two villages allied together through marriage. Now, the Third Shinobi War is Konoha, Suna, Uzu, Kiri vs Kumo, Iwa, (and other smaller villages). Because of this alliance, the Third Shinobi War is currently undergoing a slight "peace-time". That means Rin and Obito haven't fought yet because peace-time started when they were halfway through Academy. So they're alive. And because Obito hasn't gone Tobi, Minato and Kushina are still alive too.

I promise that there won't be any character bashing. So all you Sasuke and Sakura fans don't need to worry (even though I still don't really like them very much).

I will try to update on the Sunday of every week.

* * *

Houzuki Akemi was born on the eighth of August to Uzumaki Miho, niece of the Honorable Uzumaki Mito, and Houzuki Yuigetsu, grandson of the Nidaime Mizukage. She was directly related to the ruling family of Uzushiogakure and was also a descendent of the Honorable Gengetsu. She held massive chakra reserves, courtesy of her Uzumaki genes, and political sensitivity, due to her status as the Houzuki heiress. All in all, she was the perfect candidate—in fact, the _only_ viable candidate—for the position of Jinchuuriki.

She was a girl that was destined for flawed greatness; a girl that was born out of a sacrifice between two nations only to be a sacrifice herself. Lo and behold, the irony of such a statement.

She didn't have a terrible childhood by any means. In fact, Uzumaki Miho was a particularly attentive mother to both her developing intellectual and physical traits and Houzuki Yuigetsu, although stoic, was by no means cold or distant; in fact, he was exactly the opposite and was a rather quietly proud father.

But even though her childhood was, in all angles, completely normal, no one who spent more than ten minutes with her would say that Houzuki Akemi was a normal child. Her physical developments such as walking and running came at the usual few months after birth, but it was her mental developments, her love of knowledge and too-wise words and too-old eyes, that set her apart from the rest of her fellow children. Her first word was "teach" and her first sentence was "please train me". It was almost as if the three-year-old Houzuki heiress could feel the tenuous echoes of war in the air; it was almost as if she knew, subconsciously, that war was on the horizon and that it wasn't coming with a red dawn but with a gale of ferocious wind that would knock those who hadn't been ready to build their nests to the ground and to their death.

Akemi, that little girl with the Houzuki's signature white hair, that little girl with the Uzumaki's ink-black eyes, that little girl who had the Three-Tails sealed within her, wasn't normal. But Kiri was fine with it, her Council of Elders, Mizukage, and citizens alike, because a little Jinchuuriki prodigy that was equated to Kiri's version of Uchiha Itachi could only be a blessing from the Heavens during this time of war.

Or was she?

* * *

It's really short since it's the prologue. Sorry!

Next chapter: Time skip to Chuunin Exams (Maybe or maybe not. Who knows?) ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yes, Akemi is a reborn OC. This is central to the story as a whole because even though she doesn't remember her past life or even know that she had a past life, she is unhinged. Because it's impossible to live, cognizant of all your surroundings, as a baby, incapable of doing anything, without going at least partially insane.

Please note that I am not at all trying to make it seem "cool" to have mental disorders. I don't have any background in medical terminology or anything medical-related unless you count that Integrated Biology class I had in tenth grade. My story's portrayal of "insanity" is more like a loss of morals and an inability to understand/differentiate what's considered morally right from what's considered morally wrong. Basically, consider her as a person who's just as capable of emotional expression/understanding as a block of wood.

The fact that she's a Jinchuuriki and she lives in Kiri doesn't make her mentality any much better. Because even though Kiri was only known as the Bloody Mist during Yagura-Tobi's reign, the fact that the people rolled over and let him do that stuff shows that severe violence and cruel indoctrination was never something unusual. But in this timeline, we're still on the Sandaime Mizukage and Yagura's still an idealistic Jounin Commander who wants to change Kiri for the better.

A word on fuuinjutsu:

I see a lot of writers on ffnet equating fuuinjutsu to computer science and calling it "easy", but I find that terribly incorrect. Computer Science is using a set formula of terms to solve a problem. At its most basic level, fuuinjutsu is computer science. The exploding tags that are mass-produced and used by everyone is similar to computer science. But personalized fuuinjutsu, fuuinjutsu mastery, is when you not only have to take into account what you want the seal to do but also the environment around the seal. Who's using the seal? etc, etc. Questions like that. Chakra types, yin and yang, ink types, paper types, seal types, etc, come into question. That's why fuuinjutsu is considered the hardest branch of study for shinobi and that's why fuuinjutsu is like magic even in a world where walking on water is a daily occurrence.

Political System in Land of Water and Kiri:

There is no way, absolutely no way, that Kiri does not have a hand in governing of the Land of Water. When Kiri closed off its borders to everyone, even people in the Land of Water, there was no way that the Daimyo would ever have a good relationship with them again even when Terumi Mei took over. So my explanation for that is that Kiri is the sole governing body for the Land of Water. The Daimyo is but a puppet figure. That also explains Gato.

* * *

 _Two Years of Age_

Houzuki Mangetsu twitched as he stared at the pile of blankets in the crib. He'd been supposed to watch his cute baby cousin Akemi today since he was a big boy and big boys were s'posed to help out but _he couldn't find her_ and Miho-obaa-sama was coming back soon from the bi-monthly clan meetings and _he couldn't find her_.

Mangetsu's seven year old body froze for a second before he immediately dashed out of his baby cousin's room, repressing shiny, wet tears. Miho-obaa-sama would kill him. He knew it. Uzumaki women weren't famous for nothin', 'fter all. But he couldn't get rid of that sinking feeling and with a half-groan, half-whimper, Mangetsu proceeded to run around the clan compound for a total of four times before a flash of white caught his eye and his head spun so fast he almost got whiplash.

There Akemi sat, in all her two-year-old glory, sitting in the clan library, holding a book that was more than half her size, and _reading_ it. Mangetsu held his breath and inched into the doorway, careful to not disturb her for fear that the scene was just a genjutsu and that he'd have to run around the compound like a headless chicken for _four more times_. Akemi looked up, eyed his flushed and panting self, and, deeming him boring and unworthy of her attention, turned right back to her book, _The Inner Workings of Chakra, of Pathways and Types_.

Mangetsu carefully sidled closer to his baby cousin and voiced, "Umm… Akemi-chan… do you want to go back to your room to read?"

Really, it's not that he didn't want her to explore chakra even though it was dangerous for a child to do it unsupervised, he just didn't want Miho-obaa-sama to get back to the compound and realize that Akemi and Mangetsu weren't even there and that Mangetsu had shirked his baby-sitting duties and go _psycho_ on him! But it wasn't Mangetsu's fault that having a staring contest with a two-year-old wasn't exactly fun and that Mangetsu, like the other incredibly motivated geniuses of Kiri's Shinobi Academy, was more interested in training than doing anything else! His goal was to become the first person to be able to wield all the legendary seven swords in Kiri's arsenal and—he'd just lost her. _Again_. With a full-out whimper this time, Mangetsu started running around the compound. Like a headless chicken. _Again_.

* * *

Uzumaki Miho stepped into the clan compound with all the grace of a politician and all the anxiety of a mother. "Tadaima!"

And Mangetsu proceeded to royally freak out before a small, reedy voice called back, "Okaeri!"

Was that… _Akemi_? Where was she? How did Mangetsu miss her? Why would she do this to him? Twice! And when did she go back to her room!? He checked there twice! Twice! Maybe even three times, but that's _not the point_! What possessed her to do this to her favorite older cousin!?

Mangetsu's palm met his forehead in an ear-shattering smack before he finally forced himself to admit that maybe Houzuki Akemi was really _just that good_. It wasn't a usual thing for two-year-olds to be able to mask their chakra signatures so well that Houzuki Mangetsu, who was proclaimed the genius of the current generation of Academy students, couldn't even sense them.

But, really, he shouldn't even have been surprised. Houzuki Akemi had been hailed even by some of the most soft-spoken shinobi who came to visit the clan compound as the next prodigy after Yagura himself. So, really, he shouldn't even have been surprised.

Because what else could you expect from a prodigy? Even if said prodigy was his cute, baby cousin.

* * *

 _Four Years of Age_

Akemi stared at her reflection in the mirror. Shoulder-length white hair, black eyes, sharp eyebrows, and a high-bridged nose stared back at her.

Today was the day she started attending the Academy. From what she knew, Kirigakure's Shinobi Academy was probably the only one of its kind.

In one of his rare, talkative moments, her father had stated that the Academy was not only intended to be the place of learning for several hundred genin hopefuls but it was also the place where alliances were made and severed.

Kirigakure's political system was tied intrinsically with both its economic and social systems. That is to say, the only way to gain power and reputation was to get the backing or sponsorship of a Noble Family or clan. The easiest way to do so, of course, was to catch the attention of the heirs and heiresses of the Noble Families during their six year stay at the Academy. Thus, unlike Konoha where prodigies and geniuses graduated early left and right, graduating early in Kiri was considered close to suicide.

But not only was Akemi impatient for early field-work, she was also a Jinchuuriki. In Kirigakure, Jinchuuriki automatically held the backing of the Council of Elders, the most powerful political entity within the village, and, arguably, the most powerful political entity in all of the Land of Water. Because, frankly, it wasn't necessary for Akemi to smooth over ties with other heirs and heiresses when she already had suitable political backing.

Akemi pursed her lips.

 _But the risk of being manipulated would steadily decrease with an increase in allies-_

And her train of thought screeched into a halt when her straying eyes caught sight of the time. 7:54 AM stared, accusingly, back at her. _Late._

* * *

By the time she reached the gates of the Academy, toast half-eaten and the water bottle Mangetsu had gifted her attached at her hip, the Sandaime had just started walking down the sides of the ampitheater. She calmly slid into an open seat and regulated her breathing into an acceptable pace for a clan heiress.

Straight-backed, calm, and impassive, she stared unflinchingly forward even as whispers of "Jinchuuriki" and "demon" spread along the sidelines and a small circle of space grew between her and the rest of the audience.

Now that she thought about it, perhaps she didn't need to have worried so much about making or breaking alliances. Because with the Three-Tails within her, she would never need to actively approach others. If they wanted her as an ally, they would come to seek her out.

And as the Sandaime droned on about patriotism, as the children in the audience grew stars in their eyes, and as the gap between her, the Jinchuuriki, and them, the others, grew ever larger, a small smile teased briefly at her lips.

Perhaps she would have her way after all.

 _An early graduation isn't too far into the future, it seems._

* * *

By the time all the newly-minted Academy students had settled down into their respective seats and the instructor, Fumiko-sensei started to gather her supplies, the classroom was already split into factions of warring elites.

Adachi Kaede, heiress to Adachi Clan, already had with her a trope of students interested in a future in intelligence gathering and information.

The Adachi were to Kiri like the Nara and Yamanaka were to Konoha. Albeit, while the Adachi were more hard-working than the Nara, they didn't have any sort of clan techniques other than carefully guarded and ridiculously detailed and intricate studies of the shinobi mindset. The Adachi specialized in torture and interrogation, capture and interrogation, and information-gathering. Anyone who wanted a nice position in the Torture and Interrogation department of Kiri were quick to flock to the Adachi.

Furutani Genta, heir to the Noble Family of Furutani, commandeered another group of students although the size was considerably larger.

The Furutani was a Noble Family known for its prodigious talent in ninjutsu and taijutsu. The Furutani were usually sent as captains and commanders to the frontlines during times of war. Those who wanted a successful life in the main branch of Kiri's military, the genin, chuunin, tokujo, and jounin, were more likely to gather around the Furutani.

But even though there were students who already had a set goal in mind, the majority of the class was filled with those who still hadn't started differentiating the life of a shinobi from the life of a samurai.

Akemi sighed, mentally. The political pressure in the room was enough to make her want to scram out of the Academy at the speed of light.

* * *

And there you have it, Chapter 1.

It's still pretty short but I promise that Chapter 2 will be significantly longer. Chapter 2 she graduates from the Academy (you guessed it! age 5) and that's when all the dialogue starts to come in.

Is it good? Is it slow? Please review if you have something you want to say.

A clarification: I'm trying not to make her a Mary Sue. It doesn't seem that way at first but it will become clearer in future chapters.

Just because she graduated at 5 does not make her on par with Kakashi at 5 years old. She is significantly weaker in the stamina and taijutsu aspect (she won't ever be extremely good at taijutsu. That's partially because she's a Houzuki and a downside of being able to become water is the need for constant hydration. And you guessed it: stamina and taijutsu deal with a bunch of sweat and water loss). Her ninjutsu is probably a little better (the Houzuki have a bunch of clan jutsu) and her fuuinjutsu loads. Akemi doesn't really see the need to be a kenjutsu master if she doesn't want to become one of the seven swordsmen.

But that doesn't mean you won't see some pretty OP stuff coming from her. Cuz, in my opinion, fuuinjutsu is the most OP of all the ninja arts.


End file.
